military, hurry up and wait,” snickered a
couple of the vets.
I imagined them, 70 years ago, in simi-
lar gatherings, perhaps at a train station,
asking, “Where ya headed?” and exchang-
ing rumors about how the war was going.
Maybe they had been dropped off by a par-
ent, a wife, or a girlfriend. But not today.
Today a veteran was dropped off by his
daughter, who gave him a hug and said,
“Have a great day, Dad!”
Each veteran was greeted by their
assigned “guardian,” who assisted the vet-
eran throughout the day. A word about the
guardians: All were volunteers with some
past or current military connection, and
their task was to accompany and assist their
veteran for the day. They did yeoman’s duty
and thrived on it (many of the veterans were
in wheelchairs). Many wore shirts that said,
“It’s never too late to say thanks.”
The entire operation was impeccably
organized by Honor Flight—a nonprofit
group with the mission of transporting vet-
erans to Washington, D.C., to visit
memorials in their honor. The organization
doesn’t mind the publicity—it wants to do
more Honor Flights and needs your sup-
port to do so—but make no mistake, the
focus is squarely on the veterans.
Each WWII veteran wore a light
green polo shirt with the words “Honor
Flight” embroidered on it. Some wore
their military uniforms, complete with
their stripes and badges. Many wore
their airborne insignia and combat infan-
try badges. Gil Raddatz, who wore his
WWII uniform, said, “Weighed 161 then;
weigh 161 now.”
But it was their ball caps that told so
many different stories: 1st Marine
Division, 738 MP Battalion, USS Redfin,
USS Ponchatoula, USS Santee, Purple
Heart, USS Flasher, Navy, Army, Air
Force, Coast Guard. And the pins on their
hats: a B- 25, military wings of many
aircrew specialties, a P- 47, jump wings,
infantry badges, various military medals,
and unit pins. Many wore their VFW
(Veterans of Foreign Wars) and American
Legion hats. It was plainly obvious that
those two organizations mean a lot to
them. Bottom line, they stood out; they
stood proud. Age may have robbed some
of them of their agility, but every ounce
of their pride was still intact.
